EXCLUSIVE: Barry Morphew's mother wipes away tears while leaving court with his daughters on final day of preliminary hearings as judge postpones decision to send the case to trial for the murder of missing wife Suzanne
Barry Morphew was back in court today for the final day of a preliminary hearing that will decide if he goes on trial for the murder of his wife Suzanne.
His daughters Macy and Mallory - who reported their mother missing on Mother's Day 2020 - were seen leaving court Tuesday along with their grandmother Shirley Morphew, 75, who wiped away tears.
The Colorado dad-of-two sat stone-faced wearing a light gray suit, black tie and white shirt as his attorneys Dru Nielsen and Iris Eytan began making the case for his defense.
The preliminary hearing concluded with Judge Murphy postponing a decision on whether to send it to trial for September 17. Morphew's attorneys declined to comment on the outcome of the four-day hearing when approached by DailyMail.com outside court.
Morphew's defense team insisted he's innocent and revealed to the court that male DNA was found on the glovebox of Suzanne's Range Rover that partially matches an unsolved sexual assault case in Tempe, Arizona.
Defense attorney Iris Eytan grilled CBI agent Joseph Cahill about the DNA investigation he led, flagging up the DNA match to the Arizona case where a woman was sexually assaulted outside a convenience store.
Suggesting another person could have murdered Suzanne, Eytan said another partial match was found between a sample obtained in Chicago and the DNA in Suzanne's car.
Cahill said investigators initially followed up to see if Morphew could be a suspect in the sexual assault case but found his DNA was not present in the Arizona case, opening up the defense's argument that another suspect could still be out there.
Barry Morphew's mother Shirley, 75, is seen wiping away tears as she leaves court with her granddaughters and another woman on Tuesday
Barry and Suzanne Morphew's adult daughters Mallory and Macy - who reported their mother missing - were seen leaving the court for a lunch break on Tuesday
Morphew's daughters are seen leaving the court after Judge Patrick Murphy announced he will not make a decision today on whether to send the case to trial
Barry Morphew was back in court Tuesday for the final day of a preliminary hearing that will decide if he goes on trial for the murder of his wife Suzanne
Morphew's legal team, defense attorneys Dru Nielsen and Iris Eytan , are pictured arriving to court on Tuesday
Cahill said there were two suspects in the sexual assault case and while the lab found a partial DNA match between the sample found in Suzanne's car and a third subject, it didn't add up with either of the two main suspects.
He also insisted that the matches were not complete, saying there were doubts over whether the DNA from Tempe and Chicago were an exact match to the DNA found in Suzanne's car – saying court forensic investigators flagged it up as a potential lead rather than a match.
Police believe Morphew (pictured in his mugshot) could have hidden Suzanne's body in the abandoned lead mine which sits 10,000ft above sea level in the mountains outside Salida
DA Jeff Lindsey, for the prosecution, countered that Morphew's DNA was also found in his wife's car on the front driver door and the pocket behind the seat, as well as on the seat of her bike.
The judge in the Morphew case said he does not plan to make a decision over whether to send the case to trial today – citing the 25 pages of notes and 20 hours of testimony he needs to review.
Judge Patrick Murphy has now ordered a recess lasting for 30 minutes while he plots the next steps, with Morphew's attorneys asking him to free him from jail today.
Judge Murphy declined the request and said he would leave the decision to a later date.
Morphew's attorney Eytan told the court that she does not believe the prosecution has met the burden of proof to convict Morphew of Suzanne's murder.
Although the attorneys have remained inside the courtroom, Morphew's daughters Mallory and Macy have left and declined to comment when asked how they felt about the revelations of the past two days by DailyMail.com.
Morphew told police that wife Suzanne's fling with married lover Jeff Libler 'hurt me to the bone' during an interview revealed in court Tuesday.
Morphew's attorney Dru Nielsen also told how he broke the news of Suzanne's affair to their daughters Mallory and Macy – telling cops 'it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do'.
The court heard that Morphew, when asked where his wife could be, told cops: 'I think she left.'
Morphew has offered a series of different explanations for Suzanne's disappearance, beginning with the theory that she was taken by a mountain lion and then, a few weeks later, that she had been abducted by a local drug dealer he named as 'CBD Jeff.'
Earlier, the court had resumed a discussion over DNA evidence with Agent Joseph Cahill who said his team had attempted to identify the unknown male DNA found in Suzanne's car.
Suzanne Morphew was reported missing on May 10 after daughters Mallory and Macy were unable to get in contact with her.
Morphew, 53, made an anguished video begging for Suzanne to come home two days later but was charged with her murder a year later along with tampering with a corpse and voter fraud.
Grilling CBI agent Johnny Grusing, defense attorney Nielsen talked about Suzanne's drinking and said Morphew had tried to hide the extent of her boozing from their daughters – both of whom were in court to hear the arguments, along with Morphew's mother Shirley, 75.
She also insisted Morphew had no idea Suzanne was having a two-year affair with married dad-of-six Jeff Libler until informed by Grusing during one of several interviews totaling 24 hours.
Nielsen also disputed the police's case that Morphew disposed of Suzanne at the Garfield Mine, saying no sign of the mom-of-two has ever been found near the area.
She also asked Grusing about his interview with Morphew when the 53-year-old mooted getting immunity from prosecution.
Grusing said Morphew brought up the topic during a conversation in the DSI Morphew's parking lot, telling Grusing: 'And what about immunity? Can you give me immunity if I sit and just open up my life to you?'
Grusing told the court: 'I was understanding Mr. Morphew was asking if he disclosed things to me, he would not be prosecuted for what we were speaking about which is Suzanne's disappearance and death.'
Morphew, 53, made an anguished video begging for Suzanne to come home two days later but was charged with her murder a year later along with tampering with a corpse and voter fraud
Morphew (pictured in court in May) is being held in jail without bond. The dad-of-two sat stone-faced on Tuesday wearing a light gray suit, black tie and white shirt as his attorneys began making his case for the defense
The couple with their two daughters, Mallory and Macy, who have been supporting their father
Morphew admitted to striking wife Suzanne during the months leading up to her disappearance – but told law enforcement it was an accident.
During dramatic testimony, CBI agent Grusing recounted how Morphew had kept tabs on his wife's phone – calling into question his surprise at her affair – and said she had written a list of grievances about her marriage shortly before she vanished.
Barry learned his wife Suzanne had been having a two-year affair with one of her high school classmates, Jeff Libler , in the days before allegedly killing her
The court also heard that Morphew was left hurt when Suzanne failed to tell him not to kill himself after he threatened suicide when she said their marriage was over.
DA Jeff Lindsey also noted that neighbor Jean Ritter was told to look for Suzanne's bicycle by Morphew before police were informed.
The court was then shown bodycam footage and heard from Deputy Scott Himschoot who found a dart gun cap inside the Morphew's dryer on May 19.
In the footage, Himschoot can be seen picking up the cap which came from a tranquilizer needle sheath.
Himschoot was also seen in the footage questioning whether the dart gun had been recently fired but DA Lindsey pointed out Morphew had admitted to shooting the weapon in April – a few weeks before Suzanne went missing.
On Monday, District Attorney Jeff Lindsey outlined the case for the prosecution – telling the court Morphew had murdered his wife with animal tranquilizer after she tried to leave him for another man.
The court heard how Morphew's phone was put into airplane mode at 2.47pm on May 9 – 15 minutes after wife Suzanne sent her final message.
His phone was switched back on at 10.17pm before being put back into airplane mode at 3.25am on May 10.
In the early hours of the morning, data from his truck showed the doors were opened seven times and showed he left the home at 5am.
Morphew claimed he was driving to an urgent job in Broomfield, Colorado, 150 miles away, but admitted in police interviews he had initially driven in the opposite direction towards the remote Garfield Mine.
Police believe he could have hidden Suzanne's body in the abandoned lead mine which sits 10,000ft above sea level in the mountains outside Salida.
Morphew said he had gone that way after seeing a bull elk and followed because he wanted to see where it dropped its horns – even though that only happens in the Fall.
He then drove to Broomfield, making frequent stops to dispose of trash, and checked into the Holiday Inn hotel.
Co-workers Morgan Gentile and Jeff Puckett told police that he left his hotel room reeking of chlorine and covered with wet towels.
Morphew has consistently denied the allegations and, according to Agent Grusing, appeared shocked when he was arrested on May 5
CBI agent Kevin Kobak told court Gentile and Puckett had been surprised by Morphew's early trip to Broomfield – saying they had been expecting to leave at 5.30pm that afternoon for a job the following day.
Police also told how they discovered an empty animal tranquilizer dart in the Morphew's dryer and said they found a .22 caliber round on the floor of the master bedroom in the noticeably clean home.
Testifying on Monday, Undersheriff Andy Rohrich said police had also found cracks in the door of the master bedroom consistent with a forced entry.
Only Suzanne's bike and bike helmet have ever been found – the latter discovered by a search and rescue team hidden in the undergrowth on a verge close to Garfield Mine.
Police said her purse containing her ID, wads of cash and all her credit cards was discovered inside her white Range Rover SUV parked at the Morphew home.
The car also contained two empty bottles of pool chemicals.
Morphew has consistently denied the allegations and, according to Agent Grusing, appeared shocked when he was arrested on May 5.